Freemasonry Quotes
This quotation shows another example of the paranoia about Masons/ Since the Masons had chapters in many nations, their loyalty was always suspect to the most nationalistic leaders of many countries. In the United States, we even had a national Anti-Masonic Party that elected Congressmen and other politicians. Fear of the foreign—Xenophobia—has existed in many countries.
The Illuminati was a secret society. At the time, anyone who differed with the Church on issues of philosophy, ethics or religion could be tortured and burned at the stake, and anyone who criticized the Monarchy could be tortured and hung or beheaded. The result was the concept of a secret society of which the Illuminati was one. The last sentence, once it became known generally, made established monarchies and their governments very suspicious of all literary societies. To this day, literary societies are suspect in most countries as a hotbed of anti-governmetn activity, if not by the Illuminati then by some other clandestine groups. In the first half of the 20th century in America, the Communist Party infiltrated several literary societies.
